A federal judge revoked the $1 million bail of former Agape World broker Anthony Ciccone after he was charged with money laundering and hiding $1.6 million.

Judge revokes bail for former Agape World broker

By: David Winzelberg January 31, 2014Comments Off on Judge revokes bail for former Agape World broker

Anthony Ciccone

A federal judge revoked the $1 million bail of a former Agape World broker from Locust Valley on Friday, after he was charged with money laundering and trying to hide $1.6 million from federal agents.

Anthony Ciccone, 39, was taken into custody by federal marshals inside the Central Islip courtroom of Judge Kathleen Tomlinson, after she said he was a flight risk and revoked his bail. He was taken to the Nassau County Jail in East Meadow.

Federal agents searched Ciccone’s Locust Valley home Friday afternoon and found a $350,000 cache of gold coins the feds say was part of an elaborate money laundering scheme to hide $1.6 million worth of state and federal tax refunds. The refunds were for taxes paid on Agape World commissions Ciccone made in 2008.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Cafferone said Ciccone used an alias, as well as his wife and mother-in-law to open up several bank accounts at smaller banks to help hide the money. Ciccone, who feds say made more than $12 million by selling fraudulent Agape World investments to friends and relatives, had told court officials that he only had his home and $800 in a savings account when he was arrested.

The government has frozen $270,000 of the money, but Cafferone said more than $1 million was still unaccounted for.

Ciccone, a former postal worker, had been arrested on multiple counts of mail, wire and securities fraud, and conspiracy in April 2012 along with three others who sold the Agape World investments that turned out to be a $400 million Ponzi scheme.

Bryan Arias, 40, of Maspeth, who along with his brother Hugo ran Agape World’s busy Jackson Heights office and Shamika Luciano, 31, of Coram, Cosmo’s executive assistant and former girlfriend, were arrested in December 2013.

Nicholas Cosmo, 42, the mastermind of the scam that defrauded more than 4,000 victims, pleaded guilty to two counts of mail fraud in October 2010 and is presently serving a 25-year sentence at the Fort Dix federal corrections complex in New Jersey.